Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

Religion, Dynasty, and Patronage in Rome, c.440-c.840 aims to offer a new approach to the social history of Christianity in Europe in the formative period from the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire to the rise of the Carolingians. By compiling a relational database of patronage (both ecclesiastical and secular) in Rome from the mid-fifth to the mid-ninth centuries, the project seeks to make visible the social basis of the much-discussed process of 'Christianization.' The goal of the database is to make possible new kinds of comparative work through the 'levelling' effect of entering data from sources and periods not usually considered together. It also aims at making some of the sources (narrative sources, inscriptions, charters) directly available to users.

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The database covers patronage transactions in the city of Rome (including the suburban basilicas) from the mid-fifth to the mid-ninth centuries. The database includes different sources for patronage such as narrative sources, inscriptions, charters and letters. Due to the broad variety of source types, a relational database model was employed where several aspects of patronage such as the birth place of donors, the places where a transaction has been issued and the location of particular objects are related to this sources.

No sampling (total universe)

Transcription of existing materials